Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Swedish Fish and My Return to Stockholm

I am back in Sweden. I walked off the plane at Arlanda and was greeted by drab gray skies (it was in the 90s and sunny before I left in Greeley), a concrete building right next to the plane (which just added to the gray really) and a people that thinks it’s ok for men to wear Capri pants (it’s not for those of you straddling the fence on this issue).

After taking the requisite public transportation back I walked into a somewhat stinky apartment. Due to a various reasons, one being the decaying plants that I neglected and the other a fish.

Now I consider myself a half-way intelligent person. I read a lot. I did well in school. I can carry on a conversation about most things without sounding like an ignorant lout. But sometimes I make some choice that I look back on and wonder about.

The day I left Sweden I made one of those choices. Instead of flushing the fish down the toilet or trying to find someone to take care of it while I was away I came up with a brilliant little scheme. I put it in the bathtub. Full of water of course. And lots of food. I had been plotting this before I left and was dreaming up little contraptions that would be hooked to an alarm clock that would feed Poseidon every day. Then I remembered that I am not an engineer. And rely on my brother to fix my computer whenever something goes wrong.

So instead I bought a bunch of slow release food and normal fish food and just tossed them in. I gave Poseidon the proverbial slap on the ass and sent him on his way. I expected fish bones when I got back. But Poseidon is hearty and he lived through the ordeal. Kind of a strange reddish color that has since faded after getting fresh water and some fresh food. A little haggard but better for the experience I’m sure.

The smell was coming not from a dead fish but instead the nasty fish poop clouded water in my bathtub. Nothing a quick rinse out and shower couldn’t fix.

And so here I am. Back in Stockholm, Sweden, still searching for something. But at least the fish is alive.

Welcome back to Sweden.

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12 comments:

  1. Welcome back! err wait, I'm in the US, so I guess it would be... good riddance?

    ;)

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  2. not nice jd.

    gross, can't believe the fish lived!

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  3. finally :)))
    tell me about sweden and the USA in comparison :P

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  4. @jd - well said.

    @anonymous - seriously. that fish was not messing around.

    @costin - indeed. and the comparison between the US and Sweden is enough to write a book about. but stick with me because who are we kidding, thats what most of this blog is about.

    but I will say it is very obvious that Im in a different country again. living here has opened my eyes a bit more to all the differences that I never paid much attention to when I was just visitng for a little while.

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  5. Thanks. And welcome back to the blog everybody.

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  6. I'm amazed-as I told you at the time, I was sure little Poseiden would quite dead when you got home. Afterall, I can't keep them alive in a clean well aerated tank. Well done!

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  7. I expected to come back to fish bones to be honest... and yet I still put him in the tub.

    the funny thing is that in the US I have a hell of a time keeping fish alive in my fish tank. maybe I need to take a more laissez-faire approach and let them fend for themselves in a huge tub of water.

    although I must say, Poseidon (who is a Beta) looked haggard. Just kind of tired looking. And very red. He's usually blue. Although, in a testament to biology and fish, after a full day in fresh water and regular feeding he's already blue again.

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  8. Finally a post! And it was a funny post with a happy ending (eventually).

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  9. it's true. I was pretty pumped that he was still alive. and amazed. its crazy how resilient some things are.

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